Andrew Luck knows that if he wants to have a shot at notching his first win over the New England Patriots, he's got to find a way to be on the field Sunday night.
Patriots vs. Colts 2015 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch online
Will Andrew Luck be healthy enough to try for his first career win over the Pats?
The Indianapolis Colts quarterback has missed the last two games with a shoulder injury, watching from the sidelines as Matt Hasselbeck led Indy to a pair of narrow victories over the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans. That's moved the Colts to 3-2, good enough for first place in the weak AFC South. Luck knows, though, that if Indianapolis is going to win a fourth straight game, the team needs him under center, not the 40-year-old Hasselbeck.
Even if Luck is healthy and playing, it is going to be a tough game for Indianapolis to win. He is 0-4 against Bill Belichick's team, with those losses coming by an average of 29 points. The last time he and the Colts faced the Patriots was the 45-7 beatdown in the AFC Championship that sparked DeflateGate.
That doesn’t bode well for Sunday’s primetime matchup (which you can catch online at NBCSports.com), especially with New England coming into the game at 4-0 and looking as good as ever.
“This is certainly a big game, it’s the next game,” Luck told ESPN about facing the Pats. “It is a very, very good team that’s undefeated coming to town, and there is certainly a history between us and them. But it’s also a new year, and you have to take care of business at home.”
So far, Luck has not had any success solving New England’s defensive scheme. In those four games, he has completed just 50 percent of his passes for six touchdowns and 10 picks, including six interceptions to just two touchdowns in the two playoff games.
This season, Luck has struggled against any defense, completing 56 percent of his passes and throwing seven interceptions in his three starts. His 6.0 interception percentage is more than twice his previous career-worst, even though he’s not being sacked more than he has in the past.
Tom Brady has fared much better on the other side of those Colts-Pats matchups, though his numbers have been held down a bit by New England spending a lot of time running down the clock with big leads. In his four matchups with Luck, he has completed 63 percent of his passes for eight scores and three picks.
Brady has been on fire through the first four games of 2015, posting the kinds of numbers -- 1,387 yards, 11 touchdown and zero picks -- that lead to MVP awards. However, Brady’s most trusted offensive lineman, left tackle Nate Solder, will miss the rest of the season after suffering a torn biceps in Sunday’s win over Dallas.
The Colts will need all the help they can get against Brady, as they come into the game with the 28th-ranked pass defense in the NFL. Luck, meanwhile, will be facing a top-10 pass defense that has picked off six passes in four games.
How to watch
When: 8:30 p.m. ET
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis
TV: NBC
Announcers: Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya
Online streaming: NBCSports.com
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